Rotatable office utility table with drive means



June 9,1959 J. M. LEPRY ET AL 2,890,083

ROTATABLE OFFICE UTILITY TABLE WITH DRIVE MEANS Fil ed June 18, 958 2 Sheets-Sfieet 1 John M. Lepry Dolores 7. Lepry 1N VENTORJ' June 9, 1959 J. M. LEPRY ET AL 2,890,088

ROTATABLE OFFICE UTILITY TABLE WITH DRIVE MEANS Filed June 18, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.3 I 28 42 22 36 20 q l[// '////I////// Jab/7 M L890 Dolores Z Lepry I INVENTORS United States Patent ROTATABLE OFFICE UTILITY TABLE WITH DRIVE MEANS John M. Lepry and Dolores T. Lepry, Warwick, RI.

Application June 18, 1958, Serial No. 742,770

1 Claim. (Cl. 31132) The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in a multipurpose work table which is expressly, but not necessarily, adapted for use in a place of business, an office, for example, and has to do with a construction which is characterized by a rotary table or platform which may be turned by hand or, if preferred, by an electric motor.

An object of the invention is to place at the disposal of a single attendant or employee otfice machines, stationery and equipment and, in fact, all needed appliances and paraphernalia to expeditiously and systematically handle varying jobs, particularly where step-by-step procedures and techniques are the other of the day.

An ofiice having this unique and practical time and labor saving table can economize and accomplish daily work needs with facility and reliability.

The range of utility and purposefulness attending an innovation such as is here under advisement could well meet with widespread endorsement and usage, especially where one job follows another on a similar project. For example, papers could be run off on a copy machine, then placed systematicaly in piles and collated by rotating and bringing the intended zones or areas in front of the work station of the operator. Papers could then be run, for instance, through a machine for perforating them, then the table moved around to the next or second machine, say a binding machine for binding them. These are just a few ideas exemplifying the diversified usefulness of the table herein disclosed and subsequently fully described.

By eliminating walking and concentrating ones efforts from a selected station, either standing or sitting, timesaving jobs can be taken care of. In addition, and because the table can be placed in an out-of-the-way corner of the ofiice, it can be swung or turned to bring into play the needed or necessary equipment without reaching or straining. Not only this, the broad fiat expansive work surface provides available area for all of the things ordinarily needed.

Because of the construction employed, this table can actually add to the neatness and appearance of the oflice area. It offers comfort and convenience and is therefore an ideal piece of furniture considered from any practical point of view. Furthermore, it is equipped with circumferentially spaced sliding drawers at equidistant circumferentially spaced areas or zones and intervening projectible and slidable shelves thus contributing greatly to the over-all appropriateness and practical simplicity of the invention.

Other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a multipurpose ofiice table constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention, showing in dotted and full lines the general plan and construction herein under advisement.

Fig. 2 is an edge or side elevational view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the central line 3-3 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view in section and elevation on a slightly enlarged scale showing how the insertable and removable retaining wedge or key is employed.

Fig. 5 is a view fragmentarily shown and primarily in section and illustrating a modification. 7

Fig. 6 is a view in section and elevation further amplifying this modified aspect of the concept. 7

Referring now to the drawing in detail with the aid of reference numerals, the frame, which is of suitable size and materials, is denoted generally by the numeral 8:

and it is supported by suitable legs 10. Thisframe is.

fining an endless track or trackway accommodating, as,

also seen in Fig. 4, a depending endless flange or runner 18 on the bottom 20 of a hollow circular or disk-like.

table or platform 22. The top of the platform 24 is prefectly smooth and flat and is joined to the bottom by a,

vertical wall or rim 26. The top will have to be finished in some manner to render it durable and to meet the varying office needs and purposes.

supported and arranged. The outlet 30 is of the slip ring type and current is supplied to the outlet by a conductor 32 having plug (not shown) for connection to a wall, outlet. The exposed top portion of the outlet means 30; is provided with receptacles 34 to accommodate ap-;

plicance cords to operate an electric lamp or electrical machines which may be supported on the platform or table itself.

In plan view the table may be thought of as presenting or offering .for use selectively usable zones or areas. These are to be brought in front of the seated operator, clerk or attendant, as the case may be. These areas may be treated as stations or zones and they are more or less delineated by the positions of the circumferentially equidistant sliding drawers and shelves. The drawers are all the same and denoted by the numeral 36. Each drawer has a knob 33 and is of suitable construction, operates through an opening 40 in the rim and is slidingly mounted in an encasing housing or compartment 42 suitably built into the space between the top and bottom parts of the table. Similarly provided are smaller compartments or housings 44 in which the projectible and retractible shelves or leaves 46 are mounted for selective use. These shelves and drawers are arranged in pairs and one drawer and one shelf will be found at each operating station, as it were. The shelves operate through openings or slots 48 provided in the rim toward the top side of the platform or table. The shelves too are provided with handy operating knobs.

As seen in Fig. 4, the runner or flange 18 and the walls of the channel are provided with aligned openings to accommodate an insertable and removable wedge 52 which is used as the means for stopping and retaining the platform at any predetermined station.

It will be evident that this novel table construction is one which may be operated by hand or power. In the arrangement seen in Fig. 4, the runner 18 engages the cooperating surface of the web 16 and in this construction it will be found advisable to wax the surfaces to facilitate rotating the platform or table 22. In the slight modification seen at the left in Fig. 5, instead of having the runner contact the web, the runner may be provided There is an opening. 28 at the center beneath which a suitable outlet 30 is,

. 3 withfree rotating Wheels 54 which travel around the track or trackway in an obvious manner.

For the arrangement in which power is preferred, reference is had to Fig, 6 wherein it will be seen that a suitable motor- 56 isappropriately mounted in thecompartment'space 5801? the platform or table and the motor. shaft 'is'provided with a bevel gear 60 driving a cooperating pinion-or gear 62 on the upper end of a driven stub shaft 64 mounted in a bushing and provided on the lower endwith a-pulley 68 having a rubber tire 70 and providing a friction driving wheel. This wheel contacts the friction surface of the inner channelled wall 14 thus imparting traveling motion to the platform. Current is supplied to the motor 56 either through the outlet 30 or another slip ring type connector (not shown). In this arrangement the depending flange 72 may, if desired, be provided with free turning ball bearings 74.

The invention, as already mentioned, has to do with a utility'table which was specially designed for a small oflice where it will doubtless help increase the efiiciency of the service given by the employee. It will make oflice equipment easily available and set up what might be thought of as an assembly line procedure. One can visualize the stations or zones of the table or platform supportinga copy machine, a binding machine, a punch machine, a paper cutter, automatic typewriters (if the table is at suflicient low height) and ever so many appliances and devices which have to be used for mailing, stamping and so on and so forth.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous' modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the-art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as-claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A rotary table construction comprising a fixed baseunit, a rotatable table unit, and a drive unit, said fixed base unit including an annular track in the form of an upwardly opening channel member, a plurality of circumferentially spaced legs secured to the underside of said trackway in depending relation and forming supports for said trackway, said table unitbeing of the drum table type and including a circular table top, a circular bottom wall and an annular flange interconnecting said table top and said bottom wall, said annular flange having a lower portion corresponding in outline to said trackway and being seated therein, said annular flange having, antifriction members in engagement with said trackway to reduce the frictional contact between said annular flange and said trackway, said drive unit being carried by said table unit, said drive unit including an electric motor having a power cord with a rotary connection, a drive shaft having a vertical axis and being disposed adjacent said trackway on the inner side of said trackway, means drivingly connecting said electric motor to said shaft, and a friction drive wheel secured to said shaft and engaging the inner side of said trackway to rotate said table unit, said electric motor being disposed within said rotatable table unit and said drive shaft extending through and being supported by said bottom wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 29,776 Finger Aug. 28, 1860 260,665 Condon July 4, 1882 955,827 Reed Apr. 19, 1910 984,479 Griswold Feb. 14, 1911 1,244,373' Rice Oct. 23, 1917 1,608,704 McConaha Nov. 30, 1926 1,785,408 Frazier Dec. 16, 1930 2,452,291 Catron Oct. 26, 1948' 

